Bloomberg Businessweek Assignment #1
What is Behavox and how is its software in use?
Behavox is a startup company that is based in London. Adylov started the company in June 2014 (Finch & Robinson, 2017). It is acknowledged for creating a compliance surveillance software that provides the financial institutions with holistic employee surveillance solutions. According to Finch & Robinson (2017), this company promises to save money for the financial corporations, which have paid out hundred millions of dollars hiring back-office workforces, accountants, and lawyers to adhere to the rules around money laundering, capitalization, and risk. Behavox’s software catalogs computer logins, bathroom breaks, phone habits, emails, and the like, to identify the possible rogue activities among the employees (Walther, 2017). Ideally, this software helps the compliance officers and senior managers at the financial institutions detect the cases of irresponsible behavior among the employees and stop them from taking place. Finch & Robinson (2017) insist that this software identifies anomalous behavior and assigns it a risk score, attained from the earlier compliance record of that individual and also maps the associations between the workforces and flags possible problems.
What current and future applications can you envision for software such as this?
The current applications for the software as this include helping the commodities traders, brokerage firms, and investment banks identify the unlawful activities, for example, conflicts of interest abuse, rogue trading as well as threats, for example, IP theft and bribery and avert them before they take place. Thus, this software is currently used by the financial services institutions in preventing the reckless behavior, collusion, market abuse, and internal fraud. One of the future application that I can envision for the software such as this is its use in other industries apart from the financial services industry to enhance the security and compliance to the specific regulations by reducing the fraudulent activities. The other application that I can envision for the software such as this is its use in measuring things such as the levels of hormones, blood pressure, and heart rates of the traders and workforces in the financial services industry and help the financial corporations gain understandings, which would enhance risk management and their performance after crunching the collected data.
How does this type of software stand to alter the landscape for internal control compliance work?
The Behavox’s compliance surveillance software and other similar software stand to alter the landscape for internal control compliance work by facilitating the development of ultramodern risk and compliance ecosystems that transform how the financial firms carry out surveillance as well as supervise the risks within their businesses. In other words, this type of software stands to alter the landscape for internal control compliance work by providing the forensics teams and compliance officers with the improved solutions, which facilitate the detection of cases of collusion, irresponsible behavior, and market abuse among the staff members. In essence, this type of software continues to significantly enhance the surveillance teams’ efficiency in detecting the misconduct among the employees within financial services industry.
Professional Assignment 1
Couple’s stock in ABC Corporation
After five years the worth of the investment for the couple’s stock in the ABC Corporation is $20,000. Thus, the Fair Market Value (FMV) for the donor’s/couple’s stock in this corporation equals $20,000. The couple’s basis (tax basis/cost basis) in the ABC stock is $34,000. Thus, the ABC stock is a depreciated property. The annual exclusion limit for 2017 for a couple amounts to $28,000 (US Tax Center, n.d.). The gift amounting $20,000, therefore, does not exceed the annual exclusion limit for this year. As a couple, Molly and Ed are allowed to make a gift of up to $28,000 to Molly’s niece devoid of making taxable income. In other words, the couple would not owe federal gift tax if they decide to give their stock in ABC as a gift to their niece.
Couple’s Stock in XYZ Corporation
After five years the worth of the investment for the couple’s stock in the XYZ Corporation is $20,000. Thus, the Fair Market Value (FMV) for the donor’s/couple’s stock in this corporation equals $20,000. Their basis (tax basis/cost basis) in the XYZ stock is $2,000. The niece’s/donee’s basis, therefore, in the XYZ stock is also $2,000. The XYZ stock has appreciated and, therefore, it is an appreciated property. As a couple, Molly and Ed are entitled to make a gift up to $28,000 to their niece devoid of making a taxable gift. The couple is not, therefore, required to file the gift tax if they decide to make their $20,000 stock in the XYZ Corporation a gift to their niece.
Letter to the Couple Regarding Gift Taxes
Dear Molly and Ed,
Thank you.
References
Finch, G., & Robinson, E. (2017, January 18). Bad Behavior Database Aims to Stop Rogue Traders before They Act - Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-18/bad-behavior-database-aims-to-stop-rogue-traders-before-they-act
US Tax Center. (n.d.). 7 Things You Should Know About Gift Tax | US Tax Center. Retrieved February 3, 2017, from https://www.irs.com/articles/7-things-you-should-know-about-gift-tax
Walther, L. (2017, January 23). Startup Behavox is Using AI to Build a Sort of Minority Report for Rogue Traders - BusinessWeek Education Resource Center. Retrieved from https://resourcecenter.businessweek.com/reviews/startup-behavox-is-using-ai-to-build-a-sort-of-minority-report-for-rogue-tr
